Tasty Tuesday Treats

The Lady and Sons Peach Cobbler (I love Paula Deen)

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 (28-ounce) can sliced peaches in heavy syrup, un-drained (use fresh peaches if available; see note*)
Cinnamon, for sprinkling, optional
Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream, for serving
Directions
*If they are available, by all means use fresh peaches. In a saucepan, mix 2 cups fresh peach slices with one cup sugar and one cup water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir often, making sure the sugar is completely dissolved. Substitute this for the canned peaches.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put butter in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish and place in the oven to melt. Stir sugar and flour together and mix well. Slowly add milk and continue stirring to prevent the batter from lumping.

Being careful not to burn yourself, remove hot baking dish containing melted butter from oven; pour batter directly over butter in baking dish. Do not stir.

Spoon fruit on top of batter, then gently pour syrup on top. Do not stir. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of batter, if using. (The most important part of this dish is not stirring the mixture at this point in the recipe.)

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Your batter will rise above your fruit, producing the most wonderful of crusts. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

I usually add my own touch to a recipe when I cook but not this time. I followed her all the way. I did take a picture but have not uploaded any pictures in forever.

For Today

FOR TODAY
June 28, 2009

Outside my window... my grass looks horrible. We need rain & cooler temps.

I am thinking...about the fun scrapbook supplies I bought yesterday and feeling creative. Maybe I will start working on Christmas presents soon.

I am thankful for... my weekend naps snuggled up in bed with Reece. I love listening to her breathe.

From the kitchen... 12 jars of peach jam and cheesy potatoes and sausage for dinner.

I am wearing... pajamas

I am creating... scrapbook layouts in my mind for our Chicago pictures. I want to get started on our "Been There Done That Book."

I am going... to lay in bed and watch the news as soon as I am done here.

I am reading... nothing at the moment but my mom mailed me her copy of "My Sister's Keeper."

I am hoping... Reece sleeps through the night. This teething is about to wear us all out.

I am hearing... the water sprinkler in the back yard and Reece snoring in the monitor.

Around the house...Reece has toys in every room and I am lazy to pick them up tonight.

One of my favorite things...is that Reece has learned to give kisses when we ask and gave us a ton this weekend.

A few plans for the rest of the week... a short work week followed by a long weekend. It does not get much better than that. I need to book the hotel for our vacation and go to Central Market to find rubarb for another jelly rec pie I am going to try. I also plan on doing some scrap booking.

A picture to share... This one is old from my 30th birthday in December but it is one of my favorites and I am feeling sentimental right now.




I love this concept. I found it on Ali Edward's Blog. I hope you all like the "For Today" concept as much as I do and that you will do one on your blog also. In this crazy world it is good to just stop for a moment and reflect. If you do decide to play along leave me a comment an let my know you did one so we all can check them out. If you want to do one but do not have a blog then you should get one. Just kidding... copy and paste into your e-mail and send it as a forward. Just don't forget to send it to me.

Have a good week everyone!

Peaches

Soon after Matt and I bought our house almost 4 years ago my Dad planted a peach tree for us. It was a small scrawny little thing that I figured we would kill in a year. With that said you can imagine my surprise when Matt said to me one day, "Have you seen the peach tree lately?" I replied, "I don't know, I guess. Why?" "Well, it has about 1000 beautiful blooms on it." That was about a week before our last freeze of the winter. I was bummed and knew they had died. I remember thinking maybe we will get 4 or 5. Well, let me just say the the freeze did nothing to the blooms... if anything I think it helped them along. We had so many peaches on the that the limbs bent over touching the ground. One limb actually broke off. This caused a big problem, not only for the tree but for me... What to do with all the peaches! Well, Matt and I picked them earlier in the week and I did something that I never in a million years thought I would do.... I made peach jam today! When I was growing up my mom would always be in the kitchen making jelly and jam out of everything.. cactus and mesquite beans included. I thought it was the worse chore in the world second only to having to help pick the garden. ( Have I mentioned that Matt & I are clearing a space in our yard to be able to plant a garden next spring? But that is for another post) Back to the story at hand.... I made peach jam today and it was fun! It is my new hobby. I only made one batch because I did not buy enough jars. But I have enough peaches measured out for cobbler (Can you guess what Tuesday's Treat is going to be?) and two more batches of jam. I am quite excited and pleased with myself. My grandmother makes mixed berry jelly with jello. It is so yummy. I am going to call her tomorrow and find out how to make it. I see lots of jelly/jam making the my future. And if you come to my Christmas party this year, it will be in your future too. I am thinking a tea party with scones and jam and cookies too, of course! Thoughts ???
This post was originally titles "Cheesecake & Peaches" but since I rambled on and on about the peaches the cheesecake post will have to wait for another day. I am planning on a fun post tomorrow that I will need some help from you guys on. (At least I think it is fun.)

Good night

Teething

Webster defines teething as "The eruption through the gums of baby teeth."

I believe the better- more accurate definition is "The intense painful eruption through the gums of baby teeth that causes both the baby and mother to go insane."

My poor little monkey has been miserable all week. She got her two front bottom teeth on March 9th. Then there was no sign of any other teeth for the longest time. She was so fussy this weekend and not feeling well at all. Then on Sunday she started having what I will call "issues that involved many diaper and clothing changes" (If you are a mom, you know what I am talking about and I do not need to give details. If you are not a mom, just wait.... you will one know what I mean)
These "issues" got worse Sunday night and Matt took her to the doctor. We were expecting some virus or infection but nope------- teeth 6 to be exact! My poor baby is getting 6 teeth at one time. According to her doctor it is very rare and was the cause of the cranky baby and diaper issues.

The good news is one of them came in yesterday. The funny thing is that is was her little side incisor. So, the poor thing still does not have her two front teeth. I am trying to get a picture but have not had any luck.I will be glad when they all get here and she is my happy pain free baby.

Tasty Tuesday Treats

Mississippi Mud Pie (Matt's request for his Father's Day treat)

21 Oreo cookies
6 tb Butter; melted
1 qt Chocolate ice cream;
1 handful Chocolate chips
1 tb Instant coffee
2 tb Brewed coffee
4 tb Whipped cream
1 tb Vanilla
1 c Cool Whip
12 oz Fudge sauce
Toasted pecans & more chocolate chips for garnish

Make crust of cookie crumbs & butter mixed & pressed into a 9- inch pie pan. Freeze. Whip ice cream with brewed coffee,vanilla, instant coffee, & chocolate chips. Add 4 tablespoons whipped cream. Beat well, spread in frozen pie shell & freeze until very hard. Spread fudge sauce on top of frozen pie, working quickly. Cover with Cool whip & garnish with toasted pecans & chocolate chips.

She is here!

A few weeks ago I blogged about finally being able to order a Baby Be Blessed doll for Reece...well she came in the mail on Friday. I am super excited. I came home for lunch and there she was waiting on my front porch. I took her back to the office so I could show my co-workers. Poor things have heard me talk about wanting one for so long. Maybe obsessing is more the word then just talking. I think they are just precious dolls. One of my co-workers and friends, Robyn, ordered one for her niece. The hard part now is waiting until Christmas to give it to Reece. I know she will like it more when she is a little older and plays with her dolls instead of throwing them on the ground and laughing. Of course the really cute pictures will have to wait until December 25th.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Baby! Reece and I love you so much. You are more than I could have ever asked for as a partner in this journey we have stumbled along called parenting. Lord knows it is not always easy and you always amaze me at how well you handle the hurdles. I am lucky to have you in my life and Reece is lucky to have you wrapped around her little finger. We all know that she is such a Daddy's girl. There is nothing that you would not do for her.... and we both know it. I hope you enjoy your diaper duty free day!
Here is a little look down memory lane for you:

Why Reece Likes Grammie & Grandpa's House Best:

Because there she can:



1) Play in the dirt.


2) Pick green beans.


3) Cool off in the river.


4) Eat rocks.


5) Cuddle with Bella.


6) Talk to the parrot.

Tasty Tuesday Treats

I didn't make any kind of dessert this weekend. I actually don't think I cooked at all this weekend... sad, I know and very unusual. So, I have no picture to post of a yummy treat. What I do have is the recipe for one of my favorite summer desserts. My mom use to make this all the time when I was a kid and I love it.

Lemonade Pie

1 graham cracker crust
1 tub of Cool Whip
1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
1 large or 2 medium cans of frozen pink lemonade (thawed)
Mix all ingredients except pie crust. Once mixed pour into crust.
Refrigerate several hours before serving.

It is so good. You can also use regular lemonade instead of the pink lemonade
but the pink is more fun.
Matt has requested a special dessert for Sunday, something that I have never made before so we will have to see how it turns out. Either way--- good or bad---- I promise you a picture to go along with the recipe next Tuesday. I think they are fun. My two favorite hobbies--- pictures and baking!

Test post

This is just a test post to see if I can blog from my phone.

Saturday

Saturday was a great day. My mom was in town so she kept Reece so Matt and I could get some things done. And one of those things was to get me a new cell phone. Mine was horrible and I hated it. We went to the AT&T store and I came out with this..

A I Phone and I love it! I am still learning what all it can do but it is the coolest thing.
We also went to dinner and then to a movie. I had not been inside a movie theatre since we saw "Charlie Wilson's War" I was 8 months pregnant and missed half the movie because I had to waddle down the hall 4 times to empty my bladder!
We saw "Angles and Demons" and both loved it. We both had read the book years ago and could not remember how it ended so it was great.
It was a wonderful day. I was even able to get a nap in before my big date.
Thanks mom for keeping Reece so we could go out. We needed it! We both love our baby girl to pieces but sometimes miss the old carefree days!

Tasty Tuesday Treats

This post should really be called Simple and Yummy Tasty Tuesday Treats. It is one that I will definitely have to make when Reece gets a little older so she can help with the sprinkles.

1 Box Brownie Mix
Your Favorite Ice cream, softened
Sprinkles

Bake brownies according to directions on the box for the 9x13 size pan. Let them cool and then using a cookie cutter cut out shapes. Scoop ice cream onto one brownie shape. Top with another brownie cutout and press together. Roll the ice cream sandwiches in sprinkles and wrap in scran-wrap. Put them in the freezer to firm up and enjoy!




Warning---- They are a little messy but so much fun. Perfect for these hot summer days in Texas.

1 vs. 13

When I picked Reece up from school today her hair was in two cute pigtails. She looked adorable. (thank you Miss Carmen)All of the little girls had their hair done. It made them all look like little girls and not babies. It was bittersweet. I have watched these little ones grow just like my little one. I can't believe how big they are getting.
I put her in her swing so I could get some cute pictures of her hair and they turned out better than I could have imagined. I was not sure what I would blog about, I just knew I had to show everyone this cute picture......then I remembered today is her 13th month birthday! So, here we are at 1 month old and 13 months old.





It is a big change! I love the contrast. She looks so little and perfect in the first one. In the second one I love her adorable hair and red cheecks. I love what she is doing with her feet and how you can see sock fuzz between her toes. I love the contrast because it shows how my parenting habits have change. There was a time when sock fuzz in a picture would have been the end of the world....I love that I have learned to enjoy the little moments and not sweat the small stuff!

Texas Stop Sign

We are home from a wonderful weekend. I have some really cute pictures to post but unfortunately I am sick so it will not happen tonight. We did however make an unexpected stop on our way Friday evening, but when you see the Dairy Queen sign in any small town you have to stop, Right? After all it is a Texas Stop Sign. Matt and I had a blast feeding Reece her first dipped cone. She screamed when it was finished. (she gets her dramatic side from her dad) I couldn't help but think of all the fun we will have making unexpected stops on future road trips.... my baby is growing so fast. I can't wait to show her the world.

Random Updates On My Life

Just a little note to keep you posted on us

1) The Barker Family did not make it to Sonic for the free floats. Not sure why, it just didn't happen.
2) Reece's front teeth are coming in finally! Poor thing-- I feel so sorry for her. I know they hurt and it is taking forever. She got her bottom two in March.
3) I finally was able to order a doll from Baby Be Blessed! (I have their button on my side bar) I think those dolls are the most adorable things. I can't wait for it to come in. The problem now is holding out to give it to Reece until Christmas.
4) We are going to visit my parents this weekend. And Bella, of course. It should be a fun weekend. So, be aware that I will most likely be posting new pictures soon.
5) Last but not least check out my fancy new signature. It should appear at the bottom of each one of my posts.( If I installed it correctly)

That is all that is going on with us. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Free Root Beer Floats

Sonic is giving away free 10 ounce root beer floats tonight from 8:00 pm until midnight! I know The Barker Family will be going. How about you?

Tasty Tuesday Treats

Banana Boats
4 medium unpeeled ripe bananas
4 teaspoons mini chocolate chips
4 tablespoons mini marshmallows
chocolate sauce

Cut banana peel lengthwise about 1/2 in deep, leaving 1/2 in at both ends. Open peel wider to form a pocket. Fill each with 1 teaspoon chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon marshmallows. Crimp and shape a piece of foil around each banana forming a boat.
Grill, covered for 10 minutes or until marshmallows melt and are golden brown.
Drizzle with chocolate sauce and enjoy.

I tried these on a whim because I thought they would make a cute picture and because I am trying to have an open mind and try new things----- they were a huge success. Matt and Reece both loved them! I hope you will too.